The first model featured a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU (hence the name), 1 MB of RAM, and no hard drive; the last model had a 25 MHz Motorola 68030 CPU, 4 MB of RAM, and optional 80 MB SCSI hard drive. RAM in these systems is expandable to 12 MB, though most games and applications did not require more than two. The X68000 features two soft-eject 5.25 in (133 mm) floppy drives, or in some of the compact models, two 3.5 in (89 mm) floppy drives, and a very distinct case design of two connected towers, divided by a retractable carrying handle. The system's keyboard has a mouse port built into either side. The front of the computer has a headphone jack, volume control, joystick, keyboard and mouse ports. The top has a retractable carrying handle only on non-Compact models, a reset button, and a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) button. The rear has a variety of ports, including stereoscopic output for 3D goggles, FDD and HDD expansion ports, and I/O board expansion slots. The monitor supports 15/24 and 31 kHz with up to 65,535 colors and functions as a cable-ready television (NTSC-J standard) with composite video input. It was an excellent monitor for playing JAMMA compatible arcade boards due to its analog RGB input and standard-resolution refresh timing.

The X68000 had its own Operative System developed by Hudson Soft for Sharp called Human68K featuring English-based commands very similar to those in MS-DOS. This computer also had many graphical and sound programming tool software, similar to Amiga and Atari ST computers (aside from having the same CPU). Most of the games for the X68000 were shooters and/or ports from arcade games exactly loyal to their original counterparts. It even had capacities for full 3D polygon graphics in some games like Geographic Seal. Some of its most known games are: Space Harrier, Akumajou Dracula (Castlevania), Daimakaimura (Ghost & Goblins), Street Fighter II Dash, and Valis II.